


Let Your Heart Decide (Sequel to 'Hidden in Plain Sight')

by RKG



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, adrienette - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-29 07:26:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12626094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RKG/pseuds/RKG
Summary: "Tell me Princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?" Marinette has a dilemma. Sequel to Hidden in Plain Sight. :)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I COULDN'T RESIST THE DISNEY REFERENCE! XD This fic was inspired by the song "True to your heart" from Mulan. Just... the lyrics spoke to me. No, it's not a song fic... thank God. :V

Marinette had a dilemma now.

Well, one part was solved--Chat now knew who she was, which, honestly, was a bit of a relief. She didn't have to pretend around him anymore. She had refused him when he had wanted to reveal his identity to her, but, to be quite honest, she didn't want to know yet.

Because she hadn't yet gotten rid of her feelings for Adrien.

Speaking of Adrien...

He had been awfully attentive lately.

Before, he had been nice and hung out when she had asked him, but now he actively sought her out. He wanted to hang out after school, play Ultimate Mecha Strike III on the weekends, he even skipped Chinese a couple of times so he could come over and watch her Dad bake! She was surprised, most pleasantly, by this turn of events.

But... as sweet as Adrien was, he was no Chat Noir.

Chat Noir was a flirtacious, debonair athlete that could protect her and knew her secret, being a great kisser didn't exactly hurt either.

But every time she was with Chat, she felt like she was cheating on Adrien. He was _so_ sweet, and just a few months before she would've given her right arm for this chance, but now...

Now her head hurt with deliberation.

She would have to break one's heart to be with the other, but she wasn't strong enough to do it yet. Every day she kept putting off telling one or the other that they needed to stop what they were doing.

"Ready, milady?" asked a voice at her window.

"Just a minute, Chat." she went into her closet to transform. Even with him knowing her identity, it was impolite to change in front of someone.

He half toyed with the idea of revealing himself, right there on her balcony, but no matter how many times he asked, she insisted that she was not ready to know. He was getting antsy though, it was hard not to pull her aside to 'talk shop' in school, it was hard not to mention things that he knew as Chat Noir that he would never know as Adrien. Which was why he had suddenly started making excuses to do extra patrols with her. Sometimes it turned out to be an Akuma, and sometimes it just turned out to be a really, really intricately patterned moth.

Okay, so it wasn't the best excuse, but how else was he supposed to spend time with a girlfriend who didn't even know the real him?

"Ready, mon petit Chaton?" said a voice behind him.

"Of course!"

~*~*~*~

That night turned out to be another night of Superhero bonding, this time near the Sacre-Couer. 

"Now where is that Akuma?" 

"Maybe it's playing hide n' seek." said Chat, whistling innocently. 

"Silly kitty, why would an Akuma play hide n' seek?"

"Because it's fun?" grinned Chat.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and pushed past him.

"I didn't say it was a good idea of fun." Chat pointed out in his own defense. "I think I know where it might be hiding, though." he offered.

"Oh yeah?"

"Follow me."

They were soon up on top of the Sacre Couer. The view of the moonlight was breathtaking.

"Oh..." she gasped, staring at it.

Suddenly his arms were around her waist. "Like the view, Princess?"

"Y-Yes, very much so..."

"It's not as beautiful as you, milady." he whispered, kissing her.

She giggled, leaning up against one of the pillars, fortunately no one could see them, it being the highest point in Paris and only being lit by moonlight. She wondered how many other couples had discovered this place? Probably quite a few, over the years, but tonight it belonged to them. Something about that made her insides flutter with joy. As Chat moved down her neck, she asked coyly, "What about the akuma?"

"Mm, what akuma?" he murmured, his tail switching.

"What do you mean?" she pushed away from him momentarily.

" _Oh hell_." 

He had blown his own cover!

"Oh, _that_ Akuma!" he quickly looked away. "Well, it doesn't seem to be around right _now_..."

"Chat..." her hands were on her hips, her foot was tapping. She was onto him.

"It... could've been a case of mistaken identity." he rubbed the back of his neck uneasily.

"Chat, I can't believe you! You lied about an Akuma?!"

"I had a good reason!"

"What is a good reason to lie about an Akuma?!"

"Because I can't see you any other way! I can't take you out as Marinette as Chat Noir because that would be too risky! I can only see you as Ladybug, and you never want to have any fun as Ladybug!"

"Oh, I don't?"

"It's all business with you! I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just..." he looked so sad.

Her heart cleaved.

"Chat, I haven't been completely honest with you..." she said softly.

"What, milady?"

"There's someone else... there always has been. And lately, he's been--"

"Stepping in where I can't?"

"Well, it's just, I had feelings for him before I had feelings for you."

She had never seen him look that angry before.

"Chat, please don't be--"

"Is that why you're not ready for me to reveal myself to you yet?! Because there's somebody else?! BE HONEST!"

"No, that's not entirely true! I just need a little bit of time, that's all--"

"Time?! Time to do what? Let him win?!"

"EXCUSE ME!" she cried. "I'm not a trophy, Chat! No one gets to 'win' me! If I choose _anyone_ , it's up to me and _me_ alone!"

"Tell me who he is, what's his name?!" he demanded.

"NO! That's not necessary!"

He couldn't believe it. All this time, he had been competing with someone else for Ladybug-- _and _Marinette's--affections!__

__"I guess not. I guess your mind's made up."_ _

__"I told you I needed time!"_ _

__"Sure, you got all the time in the world. Adieu, milady." he bounded off._ _

__She felt horrible, she did have to admit, being with her wasn't the easiest thing... maybe it was time to let him reveal his civillian form. But she wasn't sure she could take the disappointment in Adrien's eyes when she told him she was possibly in love with a superhero. What if he didn't believe her? Then his own life would be in danger because she had never seen a jealous Cat Noir before, and she knew all too well what Cataclysm would do. She hoped she wouldn't have to find out what it did to human flesh._ _

__" _I don't know when to stop playing with fire, do I_?" she asked herself._ _

~*~*~*~

Chat Noir was trying his best to get rid of his pent up emotions by running through the streets of Paris, but it wasn't working. Try as he might, leaping tall buildings wasn't doing the trick tonight.

He saw the Gabriel Agrest logo on a nearby billboard.

" _CATACLYSM_!"

He didn't care if a billboard with his own face on it got demolished. There were way too many of them around anyway in his opinion. He watched in satisfaction as the billboard turned black and crumpled. Finally, a resolution to that horrible urge to roar in his chest.

"Plagg, claws out." he ordered.

"Why'd you go and do that, kid?" asked Plagg, panting.

"Because I-I can't do anything right!" exploded Adrien. "I'm stepping between worlds! I can't see her as Marinette because that would put her in danger, and I can't see her as Ladybug because she's all work! A-And she's not ready to see me yet, so I don't know what to do!"

"Well destroying your Dad's property isn't gonna get you anywhere."

"I don't care, Plagg."

"Don't make things harder on Chat Noir than they have to be, kid." Plagg reminded him. "If he gets a rep for going around destroying property then it's gonna be a lot harder for the people of Paris to trust him."

Adrien sighed.

"Then WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" he paced restlessly.

"You really got it bad for her, don't you?"

"I've loved her since the first time we fought together! Before I knew it was her! Before--"

"Okay Romeo, I get it."

"Plaaaaaaaagg!!! Have you ever wanted anybody?"

Plagg shrugged. "Not like that. Kwamis don't really do that sort of thing."

"You mean, you never once looked at another Kwami and thought--"

"Nope. Us Kwamis have no use for it, if one of us dies, another one appears to even out the balance." shrugged Plagg.

Adrien stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"What if camembert decided that it wanted to see other Kwamis?"

Plagg's chin quivered. "WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!"

"Empathy, my friend."

"That's not fu--"

Suddenly Plagg seized up and let out an impossibly high screeching noise.

"Plagg, what is it?!"

"Owwwww..." muttered the little Kwami. "I... I got a cramp."

"Did I cause it? I was just kidding, Plagg."

"I'm not sure... but... I need some camembert, stat."

"Sure, Plagg." He reached into his pocket and drew out a little square of it. Plagg had made good on his previous threat, his wardrobe was now FILLED with camembert.

Plagg greedily swiped the piece from him. "Never tell me nasty things about the love of my life again."

"Duly noted." chuckled Adrien, though, he was concerned, he had never seen Plagg break a sweat before... this was _new_.


	2. Building Rome and watching it burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya knows half of Marinette's secret, and Chloe is up to her old tricks again. Le-Sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also.. Adrien goes kinda dark. Not akumatized, just.. kinda dark. :P And I'm sorry for picking on the loveable Tomato-Child, Nathaniel. Don't worry, we'll make it up to him later. :P

The next day in class, Adrien was casting skeptical eyes at every guy in class, mentally taking notes about just who his rival could be.

" _Well, it can't be Kim, he's into Chloe_." he observed, noticing that Kim was trying to text Chloe and his texts were going unnoticed.. Chloe still hadn't earned back the right to text anyone but him and Sabrina back yet. Though, knowing Kim's luck, he would remain blocked.

He looked over at Ivan, who was staring lovingly at the back of Mylene's head.

" _Thank God it's not Ivan_." if he were to take on Ivan as Adrien? He'd end up broken into a million pieces. If he were to take on Ivan as Cat Noir? Well, it really wouldn't be fair to Ivan. 

" _It can't be Max_." he thought logically Marinette barely spoke to Max, not because of any reason other than that they had nothing in common.

He eyed Nino. There had been a time, last year, when his friend had been into Marinette. He nudged him. "Nino, buddy, you're not still into Marinette, are you?" he whispered.

Nino laughed. "Nah, dude! That ship has sailed. Alya, though..." he grinned. "Why, you gonna make your move?"

"I would." sighed Adrien, "But I think she likes someone else."

"Aw, sorry bro!"

Suddenly a red-haired boy walked up the steps beside them.

 _Nathaniel_.

Nathaniel had liked Marinette last year, the same Nathaniel that had gone nuts when Akumatized and tried to chop Chloe in half, and creepily ended up in her room after creating doors for himself. Marinette hadn't really held it against him, in fact it seemed like she had completely forgiven him later and was nice to him, as if nothing had happened. He'd heard of this happening before, when girls were too afraid of consequences to fight back against boys that they liked.

" _Oh my God, it's him_?!"

But he couldn't be sure, so he texted the source of all knowledge on matters like this.

" _Hey, Chloe, could you tell me if Marinette likes Nathaniel or not_?"

~*~*~*~

When Chloe received a text from Adrien, her heart fluttered, she was hoping he was texting to ask if he could hang out at her house this afternoon, but instead he was asking her who Marinette liked instead.

" _Why does he even want to know_?"

" _Um, I guess. Why_?"

" _I need confirmation, Chloe_."

" _If I do recon, will you come over this afternoon_?"

She didn't see Adrien rolling his eyes. " _I can't, Chloe, I have fencing this afternoon_."

" _Ohhh fine, will you at least call me_?"

" _That I can do_." he replied. 

" _Alright then, you'll have your information by this afternoon, Adrikins!_." Chloe sent about half a dozen heartface emojis after that.

Adrien put his phone away miserably. One day he was really going to have to discuss that ridiculous nickname with Chloe.

~*~*~*~

Chloe was bored to tears, and it was still Marinette's fault.

She had earned back the right to text Adrien and Sabrina, but she still hadn't publicly apologized to Marinette. She would do that later when she was feeling generous. Right now, she had to make her own fun, and she had to do it on the sly so that her Dad didn't find out about it.

She knew Marinette liked Adrien, it was obvious, and the reason why Chloe hated her most of all--Adrien was hers. First girl wins, after all. But Adrien didn't know that, and now he was asking about Marinette liking Nathaniel. Nathaniel wasn't even a blip on the radar screen, for anyone really. In fact Chloe had almost thought he had transferred to another school until she looked up and saw him plugging away at his tablet.

" _What Adrikins doesn't know won't hurt him._ " she thought, with a superior nod.

She was going to create hell on earth and watch Rome burn.

~*~*~*~

As Marinette was walking home for lunch with Alya, she stopped by the giant billboard of Adrien, she would sometimes secretly blow kisses at it when she was alone. However, today it wasn't there, instead there was a clean-up crew.

"I wonder what happened here?" ventured Alya.

"I... I don't know!" she trotted up to one of the workers and asked, "Um, sir, what happened to the giant billboard here?"

"Damnedest thing I ever seen!" said the worker. "It's like it exploded overnight." he pointed to a pile of twisted rubble.

Marinette's eyes widened in horror, she knew that could only mean one thing...

 _Chat Noir knew_.

"Oh God!" she cried, falling to her knees in tears.

Alya knelt beside her, "What is it, girl?"

"A-Alya... I have to tell you something..."

~*~*~*~

"So let me get this straight, when Ladybug disappeared, you and Chat Noir started hooking up?"

Marinette cringed. "Not hooking up. We've just kissed." _Many, many times_.

"Girl, how is that?"

"Amazing." admitted Marinette.

"I'm sure. The guy's a superhero. Now, why do you think he destroyed the billboard of Adrien?"

"Because I think he may know about my crush on him... and he may just be jealous enough to do bodily harm." fretted Marinette.

"But that billboard was torched!"

"Um... no... from what I've heard, that's what Chat Noir's power looks like."

Alya gasped. "What does that do to a human?"

"I... I don't know."

~*~*~*~

Chloe passed by Nathaniel's desk, she noticed that he was drawing Marinette again.

" _Oh this is beyond perfect_!" she stealthily snapped pictures of the things he was drawing.

"That's really good, Nathaniel." she commented, leaning on his desk. "What're you doing?"

"Making a comic book." he replied shyly.

"Is that Marinette?"

"Y-Yeah..." he replied. "Well, actually, one of the characters is based on her. Her name isn't Marinette though."

"Right, artistic license." smiled Chloe. "Am I in it?"

"N-Not yet..." he stammered.

"Oh." Chloe's face fell. "Well, good luck with that." she said in a saccharine tone before walking to her seat. She had all the proof she needed.

~*~*~*~

Adrien's worst fears were realized that afternoon right before fencing practice.

Chloe had sent him a picture text with all Nathaniel's drawings.

" _Sorry Adrikins, but totally. I mean, he says she's his muse and everything and he's making this comic book all about her_!"

Adrien wanted to curl into a ball and die.

" _Thanks, Chloe_." he texted back, grateful for the truth, and for the fact that she couldn't hear the devastation in his voice. 

Nino sidled up to him in the locker room. "Dude, why's Nathaniel changing into fencing clothes?"

Adrien saw an opportunity. " _Perfect_."

~*~*~*~

Mr. D'argencourt introduced Nathaniel.

"Today, we have someone who would like to vy for a spot in our club. You all know Nathaniel."

Nathaniel waved shyly.

"Would someone like to acquaint Nathaniel with how things are done here?"

Adrien raised his hand.

"I'll do it, Mr. D'argencourt." volunteered Adrien.

"Good!"

Of course, Mr. D'argencourt trusted him, and he wouldn't do anything to break that trust. But he wasn't about to go easy on Nathaniel. 

"You know the basics, right?"

"Um..." Nathaniel adopted the correct stance, then flicked his sword outward in greeting. Adrien nodded in approval.

"I-I watched an online video." stammered Nathaniel.

Adrien bit back a laugh.

"Well, you know what they say, there's nothing like the real thing."

"True." Nathaniel agreed. "That's why I want to try out."

"Well now's your big chance--EN GARDE!" Adrien turned on him and they began to battle. Thrust, parry, riposte, thrust, parry, riposte, lather, rinse, repeat. For someone who had just watched an online video he was doing pretty good, it took Adrien by surprise... but it wasn't long before Adrien overtook him. Anger was clouding his judgement today, so he decided to fight dirty.

"Creep." he spat under his breath.

"What?" Nathaniel looked stunned.

"You creep!" Adrien continued. "Drawing girls like that without their permission, it's weird!"

"I-I'm making a comic book!" stuttered Nathaniel, "It's none of your business who I draw, pretty boy!"

"I'm warning you," growled Adrien, bearing down on the sabre, forcing Nathaniel to bend backwards with it. "Stay. away. from. Marinette!"

Suddenly Mr. D'argencourt intervened. "Mr. Agreste what do you think you're doing?"

"Testing out the newbie." smiled Adrien pathetically.

"This is a class, Mr. Agreste, we're not fighting pirates. Come along Nathaniel, obviously Adrien is a bit too overzealous for you."

The two boys stared malevolently at each other as the teacher separated them. It wasn't over.


	3. Promises, Promises...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another episode of eternal, infernal, frustration from our favorite duo! ;)

Marinette was terrified. She would have to break it off with Chat, soon. But first she would have to warn Adrien! But how could she do that without letting him know what she and Chat Noir had been doing? That was going to be one awkward conversation. 

"Chat... would listen to reason, right?" she pondered aloud to herself.

Then again she had been perfectly reasonable the other night and he had gone off the deep end and destroyed that billboard.

He wasn't listening to Ladybug, but perhaps he would listen to _her_ , the girl inside of Ladybug.

~*~*~*~

"You about done?" asked Plagg, once they were home.

"Done with what?"

"Acting like something crawled up in you and died. That kid didn't do anything."

"She likes him."

"So? You're the one that's been gettin' all the action! He has no clue!"

"As Chat Noir, yeah, as Adrien she doesn't even..." he sighed. "She doesn't even see me!"

"Is that such a bad thing? You fight crime with Ladybug, you go home to Marinette, you get the best of both worlds, right?

"But I only get to be there with her a quarter of the time, Plagg, don't you get it?"

"Look, when she's ready for 100%, she'll tell you."

Adrien sighed. "You don't understand, Plagg."

"No, no I don't, kid. Sorry, can't relate." 

"I need to see her." he said seriously.

"In a few, kid, gotta eat."

"Alright." sighed Adrien, falling back on his bed.

"You know if you were a real cat they would've taken you to the vet by now."

"PLAGG!"

"Whaat? It's true." the kwami stuck his tongue out at Adrien before chomping half a wheel of cheese. That was a big bite, even for Plagg.

"Still, it's not helping." Adrien's voice was muffled by the pillow he had his face in. 

"Alright, alright." muttered Plagg, finishing off the entire wheel in another huge bite. "Let's get this over with."

"Plagg, CLAWS OUT!"

~*~*~*~

That night, Marinette stayed on her balcony and waited. She hadn't seen him for a few days, she wished he would come talk to her instead of randomly going "around town destroying things. Of course, here had only been the one incident so far... but she didn't doubt there would be more. That is, if she didn't put a stop to it.

"Good evening, Princess." said a soft voice. 

She didn't look up. 

"Good evening, Chat." 

Her voice was shaky, had she been crying?

"I-Is something wrong?" he ventured.

"I think.. we need to stop seeing each other, Chat.." 

"Wh-What?!"

"I know what you did to the billboard."

"Yeah, it happened to be in the way."

"Of what? Was there an Akuma there?"

"Not exactly--"

"Yeah, I didn't think so." her tone went from shaky to severe.

"I-I'm sorry, Mari--"

"You scared me!" she whirled around to face him. "What if that had been a human?!"

"I assure you I wouldn't use cataclysm on a human."

"Even the other guy that I like?"

Chat Noir's eye twitched. How he would've loved to cataclysm Nathaniel at that very moment.

"Promise me, Chat!"

"I don't make promises I can't keep, milady."

"See? That's why we can't see each other anymore. You can't control yourself!"

"I can too!"

"Prove it!" she ordered. "Promise me you won't hurt him!"

"Why?" his own voice was shaking now.

"Because I need to know i can trust you!"

"Give me his name..."

"No."

"Why not?!" snarled Chat.

"Because protecting him is Ladybug's job, not yours."

"And what if Ladybug doesn't get there in time, hm? Then what?"

"Trust me, I will. Now promise me, Chat!"

Chat hung his head.

"Fine, I promise, milady..."

"Thank you."

"I make no such promises about inanimate objects, though!"

Marinette sighed. "Inanimate objects can't die... a human _can_.""

"I wouldn't _kill_ him." admitted Chat, at length. "Just... rough him up a little."

"Chat." she said warningly.

"Alright, alright."

"Still, I think it would be best if we cooled things off, until you can get your head on straight."

His heart was on fire and she expected him to cool down and get his head on straight?

"I don't think cruel and unusual punishment is the way to go about this, milady."

Marinette felt horrible, she felt a hand under her chin and suddenly he was kissing her again. Her resolve almost went out the window then and there.

"Mm, what was that for?" she whimpered.

"One last kiss, milady." he whispered, before leaping off her roof.

Marinette trudged inside to have a good, long, cry.

~*~*~*~

No amount of running and jumping could make him feel better.

Finally, he found an ancient phone booth that was slated to be removed anyway.

" _CATACLYSM_!"

It helped that he was imagining Nathaniel's face.

"God..." he bent forward, hands on his knees, letting out a scream of frustration into the night. He wanted to cry, to scream, to break things, but most of all...

He wanted his Mom.

The only other person on the earth he felt he could really talk to, besides Marinette, she would've understood about this sort of thing. But she wasn't with them anymore, she wasn't anywhere to be found.

"P-Plagg... claws off."

Plagg flopped onto the ground in front of him, panting.

"Plagg?!"

"I told you..." wheezed Plagg. "STOP DOING THAT!"

"What I do?!"

"Everytime you destroy something willy-nilly I--AAAUGHOWWWOWOWW--I get a cramp."

"I-I'm sorry, Plagg, I-I can't.. I-I don't know.... h-ow to..." Adrien trailed off, his voice breaking.

As bad as Plagg felt, he felt worse for what Adrien was going through. Maybe he couldn't relate on a personal level, but he knew pain when he saw it.

"C'mon, kid." he said softly, snuggling up against Adrien's shoulder.

As tiny as the hug was, it was much appreciated.

"Thanks, Plagg..."


	4. Kwami Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tikki and Plagg have a talk. :V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm sorry but it was really fun to play with Adrien's temper. Hey, he IS Gabriel's son after all, he had to take after him in some ways. :P Don't worry, Nath doesn't get hurt. Oh and this was originally supposed to have a different ending but the story keeps getting dragged out, sorry!!!

The next day, Plagg felt like someone had punted him with a baseball bat.

"Are you okay, Plagg?"

Plagg nodded miserably. "I think I slept the wrong way."

"You want to go today or stay home?"

"I'll.. go with you." said Plagg weakly, even though every fiber of his being was screaming at him to stay behind.

"You can stay home if you want, Plagg. I don't think there's any Akuma--"

"Speak of the devils and they shall appear!" cautioned Plagg. "Don't SAY that, the minute you say there's none around is the minute one'll sneak up on you!"

"Okay. But.. are you juiced up enough?"

"Pack me a little extra camembert, will you?"

"Sure..." Adrien was sure to pack a couple extra wheels of camembert in his school bag. " _I thought Kwamis couldn't die_..." he thought absently.

~*~*~*~

Plagg was floating in the top of Adrien's schoolbag when he saw Tikki poke her head out of Marinette's schoolbag. He whistled and motioned her over.

Tikki looked both ways before zipping out.

"What is i--PLAGG! What happened to you?!"

He looked rough.

"I don't know, it all started when my holder started losing his marbles over this girl named Marinette." he said accusatorily.

"He beat you up?"

"NO! He u-used... Cataclysm... owww..."

He was so sore.

Tikki planted a kiss on his forehead.

"Here, to heal you until we can get you to Master Fu."

Plagg sighed. "I haven't even told him about Fu yet."

"You need to, Plagg, you need to get looked at. You're very warm."

"I'll tell him when I need to." said Plagg, waving her off. "Look, can you give your girl a clue-by-four to the HEAD?!"

"She doesn't want to know who Chat Noir is yet. The heart and mind have to be open, Plagg."

"Yeah well, I got a feeling if she doesn't open up soon my holder's gonna be led off in a straight jacket. He's going crazy over her!"

"That's what love does to humans, Plagg." giggled Tikki. 

"How pointless." muttered Plagg. 

"Oh, I don't know, sometimes I wonder what it would be like." she sighed wistfully.

"You're entirely too curious for your own good." muttered Plagg. "I tell you, Tikki, it's not all what its cracked up to be."

"Well the humans can't seem to get enough of it." 

"They're humans, they lead very short lives, they gotta do something to entertain themselves." shrugged Plagg. "Anyway... could you at least tell me who the guy Marinette is into at school is so I can tell Adrien? He keeps picking on this Nathaniel kid--"

Tikki clapped her hands over her mouth and began to giggle. "Plagg, the guy she's into at school _is_ Adrien."

"WHAT?!" demanded Plagg incredulously. "You mean all this time, he's been competing with.. himself?"

Tikki nodded and giggled harder.

"We'll he'll be happy to hear that--"

"Plagg, we can't interfere."

"Oh why not? Why not this once?"

"Because it's not our place, Plagg."

"Well you don't have to tell Marinette anything, but I'm telling Adrien he's the guy because I'm sick of hearing him mope!" 

Tikki shook her head, "I wish you would wait.. you know how it went the last time we interfered."

"That was a different situation!" 

"Suit yourself, Plagg." sighed Tikki, floating out of Adrien's schoolbag and back to Marinette's.

"I will." snorted Plagg, wincing as he crossed his arms.

~*~*~*~

Later that day, Marinette was having trouble drawing the arch de triomph. Sure, she could draw clothes and patterns just fine, but buildings were always tricky for her. So she made her way up to the back of the class to ask Nathaniel how to do it. He was an amazing artist and never really seemed to have any trouble drawing realistic looking things like buildings and such. Only, today Nathaniel seemed very reluctant to help.

"I don't see the problem." he commented. "I mean, it's just a couple of straight lines."

"I know, but you can always make it look so _real_ , Nathaniel!" she pleaded. "Pleease?"

"Alright, alright." he conceded, showing her on his tablet how to do a more realistic arch de triomph.

No one saw the green eyed monster that was Adrien Agreste burning holes into them with his eyes.

~*~*~*~

Nino realized he was about to be in nuclear territory. Something about Adrien was different lately, he was usually so mellow, but lately he had been kind of distant and really intense. Especially when it came to Marinette. 

"Adrien, dude, buddy, you okay?"

The blond kept glancing at the back of the room and glaring. Marinette was talking to Nathaniel, nothing serious, basically he was just showing her something on his tablet but for some reason this was driving Adrien crazy.

"No." he admitted through his teeth.

"What's your problem? Marinette's just talking to Nathaniel--"

"Good for him." said Adrien darkly. 

"Adrien, buddy, if you want the girl you gotta make your move. Did you make your move yet?"

"No..." he looked down.

"Then do it and then you won't have to be sittin' here goin' crazy!" 

"I... yeah. Alright, Nino." 

"Chill, dude, you got it bad."

" _Oh you have no idea_." he thought, catching Nathaniel's eye at the last minute and drawing his finger across his throat. Nathaniel gave him a stricken look, satisfied, Adrien turned around.

~*~*~*~

Later that day, Marinette noticed her phone was beeping, who was texting her? 

She checked her messages, it was from... Nathaniel? She hadn't talked to him in months.

" _Could you call off your dog, Adrien_?"

Marinette blinked in bewilderment. " _Um, what do you mean_?"

" _Look, I know it may sound creepy, but I made you a character in one of my comics--don't worry, I changed your name and she has green hair, not blue! But I can't explain that to Adrien and he just seems like I'm trying to steal his girl or something and I'm NOT_!"

" _I didn't know about any of this_." she texted back, hand over her mouth to keep from giggling.

" _No, I didn't expect you to. But I don't know where he got the idea that we were even a thing_."

" _I don't know either, I'll talk to him, Nathaniel_."

Marinette's heart fluttered. Adrien was jealous of her and Nathaniel? What had brought that on? 

She decided to go over to his house after school and talk with him there. Then she could warn him about Cat Noir's wrath as well, although explaining that one would be slightly... trickier.

~*~*~*~

By that afternoon, Plagg was suffering greatly. Sure, Tikki had healed him, but that had only worked for a couple of hours. 

"K-Kid..." Plagg had crawled out of his schoolbag and was panting heavily.

"PLAGG!" Adrien cupped him in his hands. "What's wrong, buddy?"

"I-I know this place..." with the last of his strength, Plagg summoned a mental image of Master Fu's place and sent it to Adrien's mind.

"The chinese medicine place?"

But Plagg didn't respond.

"GORILLA, DRIVE!"

"Why here?" asked the Gorilla.

"Ghost stickers!" Adrien jumped out at the chinese medicine place and ran inside.

A small, asian man was sitting in the back.

Adrien ran towards him and showed him a lifeless Plagg. "Can you do anything about this?"

The little man ushered him quietly through a door. "Yes, Cat Noir, I've been expecting you."

"H-How do you know...?"

"I'm the guardian of the Miraculous." he replied simply. "My name is Master Fu."

Adrien sat down in a chair. "H-He said he'd been having cramps lately, when I used Cataclysm, I always fed him directly afterward! Even more than he's used to! I don't know what's going on."

Master Fu stretched his hands out over Plagg. "I see his Chi is way off balance, I can fix that, but yours..." Master Fu looked worriedly at him. "Yours is shrouded in negative energy. Are you okay?"

"N-Not really..."

Before he knew it, Adrien was pouring out his troubles to Master Fu.

"That's it." said Master Fu. "Your heart has been broken a lot lately, hasn't it?"

Adrien nodded sadly.

"Of course, that would affect your Kwami's energy a bit, but nothing like this... this is a case of first, unrequited love."

"So... because Marinette broke up with me, Plagg is suffering?"

"No, you're suffering and using Cataclysm irresponsibly. That is what's making Plagg suffer."

Adrien slumped forward, face in his hands. "Oh, God... I'm so sorry, Plagg. He won't die, will he?"

Master Fu shook his head. "No, because it's not the first time this has happened to a Kwami, you aren't the first to use their powers destructively. There must always be balance."

"Balance... sorta... like a zen thing?"

Master Fu chuckled. "Something like that, yes. Cataclysm is used to be helpful to Ladybug's endeavors. If she needs a mountain moved, then you are supposed to remove it. But doing it just because you feel like it wears out your Kwami unncessarily. Worse yet, using it when there is not a battle at hand and when your own heart is broken is a rather bad idea as well."

"So Plagg's dying because of my broken heart?"

"Not dying, think of it as a case of extreme exhaustion."

Suddenly Master Fu waved his hands over Plagg, and the little Kwami's eyes opened. "Thank you..." he said, looking gratefully up at Master Fu. The elder man stroked the Kwami's forehead. "Sleep, Plagg. You've deserved it."

Plagg rolled over and went to sleep.

"So... what do I do?" asked Adrien brokenly. 

"I never thought I'd say this, but, I think its time you were yourself, Cat Noir."

Adrien sighed. "You have no idea how much I want to tell her! But she... she said she doesn't want to know yet."

"Be gentle with her." said Master Fu. "Ladybugs are delicate creatures."

"They can crush cats, though."

Master Fu laughed.

~*~*~*~


	5. Rival revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AND NOW FOR THE FUNNY PART! :P

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, i'm sorry but Plagg's been around for thousands of years and has had a lot of Chat Noirs, so, I'm pretty sure he knows things, dirty things. :P

Now that she had broken up with Chat Noir, Marinette could warn Adrien and maybe not worry about Chat going after him. She grabbed some of his favorite croissants and some cookies and tossed them into a basket, then made her way over to the Agreste mansion.

"I hope no one sees me..." she said softly to herself. "Maybe I should've called first."

Then again, if Chat Noir asked her anything later she could just say she was delivering the croissants for her Dad. Yes, that was it. " _Good cover story, Marinette_." she congratulated herself.

She would warn him about Chat Noir first, then talk to him about Nathaniel. After all, she was pretty sure Adrien wouldn't actually hurt Nathaniel, right?

~*~*~*~

A couple hours later, Plagg was feeling better and zooming around Adrien's room, his old self again.

"So what did Master Fu say about getting your own chi under control?"

"He said it was time I was myself... but if she's not ready... then what? I need to see her, but I can't go as myself, you know that."

Plagg shook his head. "You are on your own, kid. That HURT!"

"But Plagg!!!"

"No buts, I'm not--" suddenly an image on the security camera caught his eye. "Hey look, you may not have to transform after all!" Plagg pointed out. "Your wish was the universe's command, kiddo!"

Marinette was outside, looking apprehensive.

"Thanks, Plagg!" He dashed out of his room and downstairs while Marinette was still looking for the buzzer. He would meet her at the gate, no need to get his Dad involved unneccessarily.

~*~*~*~

"Marinette!"

Marinette's heart sang as she looked up and saw her favorite boy in the world dashing down the long walk toward the gate.

"Hey Adrien!" she waved shyly.

He punched in the security code and opened the gate, bowing at her.

" _Crap, why'd I do that_?" that was a Chat Noir move, not an Adrien move. Then again...

"Thank you." she smiled at him. She was so beautiful when she smiled.

"Adrien, I.. I came to tell you something."

"Yeah?" he stepped closer to her. 

God, why was he looking at her like that? So intense.

"Adrien, we may need to stop seeing each other for awhile."

"Why?!" he demanded.

"B-Because I think... I think someone has a grudge against you."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. Oh here it came, the doubt that she had been dreading.

"Me and Alya saw that one of your billboards was destroyed earlier."

Adrien shrugged. "That happens to a lot of models, people get jealous. It happens, Marinette."

"Not just _anybody_ , they said it looked like it'd been torched!" she cautioned. "A-And from Alya's blog posts? It looked like it had been done by Cat Noir's power."

Adrien couldn't help it, he burst out laughing.

"Adrien, it's not a laughing matter--"

" _Cover, don't blow your cover, not yet.. it'll scare her off_." he coaxed himself to stop laughing. "He's a _superhero_ , what did I do to him, have better hair?"

Marinette bit back laughter herself. "I.. I don't know, but for some reason he really wanted to destroy that billboard."

"Maybe it was a misfire?" he shrugged.

"I... kind of doubt it." she looked away. "Alya heard... inside scoop, of course, that Ladybug likes someone else."

It was too much, he burst out laughing again.

"A-And he thinks i-it's me?"

"That's where my mind went." shrugged Marinette. 

"But why do _we_ have to stop seeing each other? I mean, Ladybug's Ladybug and you're Marinette--" 

"Because, if he comes after you, I wouldn't be able to protect you!" admitted Marinette. "I mean, I'm j-just Marinette--"

"I think I can hold my own against Chat Noir." Adrien scoffed. He couldn't help it, it was too funny.

"Adrien, you'll die!" she cried.

"Like a superhero is gonna go against their code of honor and kill me." he rolled his eyes. "Come on, Marinette."

"Th-That's not the only thing." she bit her lip.

"Yeah?"

"Me and Nathaniel...?"

"Yeah...?" why did he look worried?

"We aren't a thing. We never were, I was just asking him how to draw the Arch de Triomphe earlier."

"Oh..."

Marinette noticed it was getting darker outside, the time when Chat Noir would start prowling. She quickly handed him the basket of croissants.

"Adrien... I-I'm sorry, I have to go... I told my Dad I'd be back at the bakery."

"You want me to walk you--"

"NO! No, please, Adrien... please if you see Chat Noir, just run, okay?"

"O-Okay."

Marinette threw her arms around him, he breathed in that intoxicating scent that was uniquely _her_ , for a moment all was right with the world. Then she fled as if her very life depended on it. He watched her go, clinging to the gate. 

" _God, Mari, do you even realize how adorable you are_?"

Adrien laughed all the way up to his room.

~*~*~*~

Plagg was finishing off his second wheel of cheese when Adrien came back in the room, laughing hysterically.

"Great, you've cracked up and me without a straight jacket." snarked Plagg. "What's so funny?"

"M-Marinette..." Adrien couldn't finish, he slid down the wall, laughing. 

"What? Did she tell you the one about the guy from Nantucket?"

Adrien eyed him warily. "No, that one I heard last year from Nino--how did YOU know about it?"

"Sorry kid, when you live for a few millenia, you hear things." Plagg often forgot how young Adrien was. Every other Chat Noir he had ever been associated with had been considerably older. 

"Anyway." continued Adrien. "Sh-She just tried to warn me against... Chat Noir!" he buried his face in his knees, shaking violently with laughter.

"What?"

"You heard me!" cried a muffled Adrien.

A memory niggled at Plagg. The morning had been a blur, but now that Adrien had mentioned it, he distinctly remembered Tikki giggling, " _The guy she's into at school IS Adrien_."

"Yeah kid, forgot to mention..."

"What?"

"It's gonna hurt real bad when you hit that mirror. Marinette's into _you_."

"Y-You're kidding..." his jaw dropped. "You're kidding! I-I've been... competing... with myself?!"

"Yeah, found out this morning. A little Kwami told me."

"So I wanted to kill Nathaniel over--"

"Diddly squat."

Adrien winced. "That... wasn't a good look, was it?"

"Nope."

Adrien sighed. "Look... I made a mistake, alright? But why would Chloe say that?"

"She's Chloe." said Plagg. "Also, she likes you too, idiot."

"Like that? But... Chloe's like the sister I never had."

It was true, Adrien did like Chloe, but he had always thought of Chloe like a sister. A bratty, annoying sister, but a sister none-the-less.

Plagg smirked. "Better make sure she knows that."

"A-After today, I will." he replied. "I.. I got an idea." 

~*~*~*~

Tikki was napping when she had a strange dream.

She was at Master Fu's, and Wayzz was talking to her.

"Tikki, it's time."

"Time? Time for what?" she was slightly confused.

"It's time that they both knew."

"Oh..." realization suddenly dawned on Tikki.

"Get Ladybug here." urged Wayzz. 

"I'll do my best." suddenly the dream faded and Tikki woke up, she flew out of Marinette's schoolbag and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Marinette, you're needed at Master Fu's." said Tikki.

"Oh, why?" she asked, looking up from her homework.

"I wasn't too clear on that, but his Kwami contacted me and said he needed you over there."

Marinette shrugged and put down her homework, she was almost finished anyway. "Alright Tikki, come on."

~*~*~*~

"Lucky for you, I'm no stranger to matchmaking, young man." said Master Fu. 

"I really appreciate it, Master Fu." said Chat Noir.

"This is the first time I've ever run into this kind of situation." said Master Fu, "But I trust your judgement. I'll be upstairs." Master Fu left.

He smiled helplessly. Hopefully his Lady would be there in a few minutes. He didn't care which persona came, Marinette, or Ladybug, he was ready to be completely honest with her, consequences be damned.

Suddenly the bell rang above the door of Master Fu's shop, in walked Marinette.

Chat Noir stood up, heart swelling with pride, he held his breath as his lady made her way towards Master Fu's office and stepped inside.

"Milady..." he bowed deeply.

"Ch-Chat?"

"Milady... I... first off, I want to apologize for the other night, I didn't mean to scare you."

"I... appreciate that, Chat."

"Also, I want to tell you that I haven't quite been honest with you."

Marinette blinked. "What...? What have you been lying about?"

He stepped toward her, putting one arm around her waist and pulling her to him.

"There's no easy way to say this, Princess..." he said softly, "I practiced it a million times in my head, but... would you close your eyes?"

Marinette closed her eyes. "But what?"

Suddenly, Chat Noir's bravado gave way as he spoke again. "D-Did you e-ever think that maybe... just maybe..."

Vulnerable Chat Noir was something she couldn't resist.

"Y-Your friend, and Chaton, were one and the same?"

" _Plagg, claws off_!" he urged mentally.

Marinette opened her eyes and stared, she watched, at first in horror as the transformation gave way, but then uttered a loud, audible gasp as Chat Noir became...

" _ADRIEN_?!"

"Hey Marinette." he gave a small wave.

Marinette pointed at him, her mouth open as if to speak, but instead her eyes rolled up and she fainted dead away.

"SHIT! I KILLED HER!" cried Adrien, catching her before she fell on the hard floor.

"No," said an impossibly high voice coming from Marinette's purse. "She just fainted."

Plagg started laughing loudly.

"MASTER FU!!!"

He picked her up and placed her on small sofa.

"What.. what now?!" he asked frantically.

"You wait for her to wake up, Cat Noir."

"WILL SHE?!" he cried, fretting.

"Yes, it's just shock."

Adrien began to pace.

~*~*~*~

Marinette awoke in a strange place, why was she at Master Fu's? Oh wait...

"Good, you're awake!" cried Adrien.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Chat Noir was Adrien.

She had made out with Chat Noir.

Essentially, she had made out with Adrien.

Granted, this had been a goal of hers for awhile but she hadn't ever counted on it happening like this.

"Y-You're..."

"Yep." he nodded. 

"I... need t-to..."

"To what? Anything, no problem, Mari!"

"I-I need to go home a-and finish my homework." she said pragmatically. Her brain couldn't process all of this information.

Adrien's jaw dropped. He looked crestfallen. "A-Alright.. I'll... walk you home."

The walk home was awkward, and silent, and there was no touching to be had. Marinette was staring straight forward the entire time, walking rather robotically.

" _Th-They're the s-same, oh my God_..."

Each time she had rejected Chat Noir, she had rejected Adrien.

She had BROKEN UP with ADRIEN!

But then again, she had broken up with Adrien, for... Adrien?

Suddenly she laughed out loud.

"What?" he asked miserably.

"I... I just realized... I broke up with you... FOR YOU!" suddenly Marinette was laughing. 

" _Well at least she's not acting like a robot anymore_." he gave a short chuckle. Suddenly she realized just how pained he looked.

"Oh... Adrien..." she said softly. "I didn't know."

"I know you didn't... and I didn't either... and.... i-it is kind of funny." he gave another short chuckle. "But... are we still broken up?"

Marinette took his hand. "No." she whispered.

She wasn't prepared for the searing hot kiss she got in return. _That_ was a definite Chat Noir move, not that she minded, really.

"Mon Amour..." he murmured against her lips. 

"No more talking, kitty." she teased.

Adrien didn't need telling twice.

~*~*~*~ 

THE END


End file.
